BLOOMINGTON — A Bloomington woman has been arrested and charged in connection with the fentanyl overdose death of her brother, Brian O’Bannon, who died in March after consuming a combination of fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Kurstie Purtlebaugh, 34, is charged with dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death, a Level 1 felony. She was arrested Wednesday, more than eight months after her brother’s death.
Purtlebaugh appeared in Monroe Circuit Court 2 on Wednesday, December 4th, when she was formally charged and entered a not-guilty plea. She was released on an order for monitored conditional release or house arrest. A pretrial conference is scheduled for February 17, 2025, at 1:30 p.m.
On August 6, the Monroe County Coroner ruled that O’Bannon died from pharmacologic intoxication of fentanyl, with traces of both methamphetamine and fentanyl found in his system.
O’Bannon’s Death
On March 28, O’Bannon’s fiancé used air pods to locate him inside a car, where he was found dead. According to court documents, Purtlebaugh, her husband, and her fiancé’s father were present when O’Bannon’s body was discovered. O’Bannon had been reported missing by his family the day before.
When authorities arrived at the scene, they were informed that someone had removed drugs from the car before officers arrived. However, no drugs were recovered at the scene. Police did, however, take O’Bannon’s phone into evidence.
During their investigation, police learned from a cousin of Purtlebaugh that she had sent him Facebook messages inquiring about her brother’s whereabouts just a day or two before his death. The cousin also told police that Purtlebaugh had confessed to giving O’Bannon “go,” which authorities later confirmed was a street term for methamphetamine.
Police found several text messages between O’Bannon and Purtlebaugh about her purchasing the drugs and when they would meet to exchange the drugs.
The police investigation revealed that Purtlebaugh was the last person O’Bannon had contacted before his death. No other drug-related conversations were found on his phone with anyone other than his sister.
Purtlebaugh has denied giving her brother any drugs. She then refused to cooperate with police, requesting an attorney.
